Big Changes In â€28 Olympic Timetable

With the LA28 Olympic schedule now set, it would appear Sydney McLaughlin-Levroneâ€s dream of chasing a 400/400H golden double has been nipped in the bud. (CLAUS ANDERSEN)

THE FULL SCHEDULE for the â€28 Olympics was released on November 12, and the several major changes will make it unlike any Games before, especially in regard to our sport. The biggest alteration will be that the track & field (as distinguished from road) events, rather than being slotted for their traditional last week-plus of the Games, will move to the first 10 days of the schedule.

The move was dictated by the Opening Ceremony plans. Said Shana Ferguson, the Chief Of Sport & Games Delivery, “The real reason for this, quite frankly, is the venue share between what weâ€re calling the ‘2028 Stadium†[which you may know as SoFi Stadium], will be one of the two venues for the Opening Ceremony and also the venue for swimming. And in order to transition from Opening to swimming, we just couldnâ€t do it, frankly, in the same day, which is what you would need from the swimming competition to start in the first week.

“So big thanks to not only the IOC, but World Athletics and World Aquatics. We were able to flip those two sports so that athletics goes in the first week and swimming in the second week.â€

While some have noted that track & field will run for the duration of the Games, thatâ€s not exactly true. The track & field events will occupy the first week-plus of the schedule, with the road disciplines sprinkled throughout the remaining days. Track events conclude on Day 10, with the walks on Day 13, the womenâ€s marathon Day 14, and the menâ€s marathon on Day 15, the final day, which organizers are calling the “single most action-packed day†of the Games.

What stands out foremost is that the women sprinters are being asked to run all of their rounds in one day, something unprecedented in a global championship. That wrinkle raised objections in some quarters (see box).

Fastest Women Will Also Need Endurance

The 3-races-in-one-day plan for the womenâ€s 100 in LA has a strong supporter in WA head Seb Coe. He explains, “I think having athletics running straight off the back of that is a good thing for us.

“We were given the opportunity, which we then took to the women 100-meter runners, ‘Look, you could go first day, you could end up with probably the biggest medal thus far in the Olympic Games being determined on the first night, and it could be you.

“And both our competition teams spent a lot of time speaking to the athletes, speaking to the coaches, and overwhelmingly, they were supportive.â€

Yet not all are thrilled with the prospect. As a Jamaican newspaper editorial called the schedule “dodgy,†the agent of defending champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia, Henry Rolle, released a statement saying, “Given the continued pattern of inadequate recovery windows, secondary consideration of womenâ€s event structure, and unequal conditions compared to male athletes, we cannot in good conscience contribute to a media narrative praising the current schedule. To do so would misrepresent the lived reality of the athletes and endorse inequity under the guise of promotion.â€

Britainâ€s Dina Asher-Smith, on the other hand, said, “It will be an honour for the womenâ€s 100m to open the LA Games. Itâ€s such an exciting opportunity — celebrating enduring legacy, strength and global power of womenâ€s sprinting.â€

The other tweak that is raising eyebrows is that organizers have made a womenâ€s 400/400H double nearly impossible, with the finals two days apart, and a hurdle semi happening perhaps an hour before the 400 final. There goes Sydney McLaughlin-Levroneâ€s hopes for a unique 1-lap double (see box).

At a news briefing, Ferguson put a positive spin on the womenâ€s 100 situation: “My goodness, we want to come out in these Games with a bang, and likely, that race will be among the most watched of all the races in the Games. You just want to start that day one with a massive, massive showcase of the fastest females in the world.â€

Swimming legend Janet Evans is LA28â€s chief athlete officer. She said, “We did speak at length with my LA28 Athletes Commission, which includes two athletics female athletes [Allyson Felix and Queen Harrison]… as well as World Athletics†Athletes Commission.

No Double For McLaughlin-Levrone?

Despite past instances of the Olympic Games tweaking schedules to make historic, high-profile performances more likely, LA28 organizers are making no such accommodations for superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who has made public her desire to double at 400/400H.

McLaughlin-Levrone, the 2-time Olympic champion in the 400H as well as the fastest ever, jumped into the 400 wars this year and emerged with a World gold and the No. 2 time in history.

Coach Bobby Kersee told the Orange County Register, “She could do it. Sheâ€s proven sheâ€s capable, so why not give her the opportunity? Weâ€re a sport fighting for attention. So why do you make this decision? This shows the weakness of our sport. Weâ€ve got the stars but we donâ€t get any help from the top.

“I donâ€t understand. If they adjust the schedule so Michael Johnson is able to double in the 400 and 200, why not? I just donâ€t understand it.â€

The schedule also eliminates SMLâ€s backup plans for a double, which would be the 400H and the 200. “The worldâ€s loss,†opines Kersee.

Says WAâ€s Seb Coe, “If she chooses to do [the double], thereâ€s probably no one better suited than Sydney to achieve it. I donâ€t know what her plans are and it will be presumptive of me to suggest anything other than that, but look, weâ€ve done our very best to accommodate as many doubles as we possibly can.â€

“And yes, athletes always have their knee-jerk reaction first, which is ‘Hey, wait, thatâ€s going to be hard,†and the thing about planning these Games and working with athletes for that is that thereâ€s always going to be a few naysayers…

“The majority of athletes did say, ‘Let us know, I get it, I understand it, it could be great, let me know,†and thatâ€s what weâ€re doing here today.â€

Ferguson implied that schedule changes are unlikely for any athlete, no matter how prominent: “What I will say is that each of these schedules, each of these days, each of these sessions was developed over months and months of deliberation, and so Iâ€m hopeful that we have accounted for any eventualities and wonâ€t necessarily have to deal with any sort of inquiries. At this time, this is the schedule thatâ€s been developed and approved in coordination with the IFs and the IOC.â€

The Finals

Saturday, 7/15 – m10,000, w100, wSP
Sunday, 7/16 – m100, mSP, wHT, mix4x4
Monday, 7/17 – mPV, mDec, wTJ, mix4x1
Tuesday, 7/18 – mHJ, mDT, w800, w5000
Wednesday, 7/19 – m1500, m400H, mLJ, wSt, wDT
Thursday, 7/20 – mSt, mHT, w400, wPV
Friday, 7/21 – m200, m110H, mTJ, w10,000
Saturday, 7/22 – m400, w200, w400H, wLJ, wHept
Sunday, 7/23 – m800, m4x1, w1500, wHJ, wJT
Monday, 7/24 – m5000, m4x4, mJT, w100H, w4x1, w4x4
Thursday, 7/27 – mHalfM Walk, wHalfM Walk
Saturday, 7/29 – wMar
Sunday, 7/30 – mMar

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.

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